Trump claims India will buy oil from Venezuela instead of Iranian crude
PTC Web Desk: US President Donald Trump has claimed that India will buy oil from Venezuela, replacing crude that it might otherwise get from Iran, even though India currently buys very little oil from Iran due to long‑standing US sanctions.
Donald Trump made the comments while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday evening. He said, “We’ve already made that deal,” referring to an agreement for India to buy Venezuelan oil and added that China was also welcome to do a similar deal.
#WATCH | US President Donald J Trump says, "China is welcome to come in and make a great deal on oil... We've already made a deal. India is coming in, and they're going to be buying Venezuelan oil as opposed to buying it from Iran. So, we've already made the concept of the… pic.twitter.com/PlVfDHys9S
— ANI (@ANI) February 1, 2026
India has been a major buyer of Russian crude oil in recent years, but Washington has been urging New Delhi to diversify its sources. The US recently signalled that India could soon resume imports of Venezuelan crude to help replace declining Russian oil purchases.
The remarks triggered criticism from Indian political parties. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared an audio clip of Donald Trump’s words on social media platform X, saying Trump appears to be revealing what the Indian government has already done or plans to do. He referred to earlier similar claims by Trump on unrelated matters.
Officials in India have not yet officially confirmed any new oil import deal with Venezuela. Meanwhile, Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez recently spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the phone to discuss boosting cooperation in energy, trade and investment.
- With inputs from agencies
